ICED VANILLA OAT MATCHA LATTE

Hi happy weekend! We have a bunch of stuff going on AND I’m hoping to get ahead on some work in preparation for my trip to Iowa next weekend for this event. I haven’t done any kind of public speaking in a long time, so I’m a BIT nervous and want to give myself a lot of time to read through my speech. If you have any tips on overcoming nervousness with public presentations, send them my way please. I have a feeling I might be trying to get some extra meditation in over the next week or so ;)

I’ll leave you with my favourite afternoon pick-me-up these days and some links to peruse. I enjoy oat milk (don’t we all at this point?), but I find that homemade oat milk is a bit of a pain. It has to be made and used pretty much immediately or it gets a weird, slimy sediment thing going on. With this iced vanilla at matcha latte, you’re making a small batch and combining it right away with freshly frothed matcha. Oat-y, vanilla-y green tea heaven!

🖤 The Instagram aesthetic as we’ve known it (pink/pastel everything, heavily curated scenes/looks, alleyway walls that become tourist attractions) is potentially over and done with.

🖤 A nutritionist on why she doesn’t eat 100% organic food: “When you consider the population as a whole—a big group of children and adults who typically fall short every day on their produce quota, we don’t need a single reason to discourage people from eating fruits and vegetables.”

🖤 The tick bite that immediately makes you allergic to meat. Nature is wild.

🖤 A reminder that the word “natural” on food labels means exactly nothing. “…the same hogs, raised in the same way, are used for both Natural Choice Cherrywood-Smoked Uncured Bacon and, well, Spam.”

🖤 In the ongoing discussion of single use plastic, one thing keeps coming up: What about biodegradable cups and utensils? WELL, turns out these products need highly specialized conditions and facilities to fully break down. Otherwise, they act an awful lot like plastic.

ICED VANILLA OAT MATCHA RECIPE

Print the recipe here!SERVES: 1 (or 2 small servings)NOTES: You do need a fine mesh strainer to run the oat milk through. I find that it can be slimy and slightly gritty if you don’t do this extra step.-My favourite matcha is by Ippodo. I usually go for one of the “balanced” varieties.

MATCHA:1 teaspoon matcha powder, sifted through a fine mesh strainer⅓ cup hot water that’s been off the boil for about a minute

Fill a serving glass with ice

Make the quick oat milk. In an upright blender, combine the oats, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and water. Blend on high until you have a smooth milk, about 1 minute. Pour the milk through a fine mesh strainer into your glass with ice. Use a spoon to move the pulp around so that all the milk gets through.

Place the sifted matcha in a small, wide bowl. Pour a bit of the hot water on top and whisk it vigorously with a small whisk (preferably a matcha whisk). Once the matcha powder is dissolved, pour in the remaining hot water. Whisk the matcha again until frothy.

Pour the matcha on top of the iced oat milk. Stir the iced vanilla oat matcha latte to combine.

Reading aloud to yourself or a partner, over and over, before the presentation, is the best edit, I find. It’s also a way to get the rhythm of the sentences more lodged in your brain so it becomes more natural, more like talking and less like a speech. Takes the edge off at show time. Something about hearing your actual voice as opposed to just reading visually. You’ll be great! I read recently to assume the reader (audience) for your work is a friend. Not an adversary, but also not a mere spectator. I think that generous disposition really makes a difference.ReplyCancel

Check out Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk titled “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are.” I showed it to my students in our technical and professional writing course before they did their final presentations this semester!

And don’t underestimate the power of some alternate nostril breathing before you take the mic.

I saw a Facebook video that explained nervous energy and excitement have the same physiological response in the body. It seems the way we perceive what’s happening can effect our success. Athletes who were asked if they were nervous before a big game often said I was really excited. Strangely enough as a singer this shift in perspective has helped me a lot. When I start to sweat and get jittery I remind myself that I am excited. That whatever I’m doing is a great opportunity and it helps me channel my energy into my performance instead of allowing it to drain me. Take a deep breath, be excited, know that people want you to do well. Just be your amazing self ReplyCancel